At least two people were killed and 12 others injured in a blast near Afghanistan’s ministry of foreign affairs, according to a hospital run by an Italian NGO in capital Kabul, writes Al Jazeera.

“We received some patients”, - said Stefano Sozza of Italian NGO Emergency on Monday.

The charity runs a surgical centre specialising in treating victims of the long-drawn war in downtown Kabul.

A tweet from the NGO said at least one child was among the injured.

Sozza said the incident took place near the foreign ministry.

Two witnesses told Reuters news agency they heard the sound of a large explosion near the heavily fortified area that is home to several government buildings and foreign embassies.

Spokespeople for police, the information ministry and the ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.